Toshiba Satellite A75-S213 15.4' Laptop (Intel Pentium 4 Processor (HT), 1024 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Dbl Layer Drive)
from: Toshiba
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PC Hardware : Toshiba Satellite A75-S213 15.4' Laptop (Intel Pentium 4 Processor (HT), 1024 MB RAM, 100 GB Hard Drive, DVD SuperMulti Dbl Layer Drive) |
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Rating:  - * Terrible computer, DO NOT BUY! ... This is the worst laptop I've ever owned. I've had it for about a year, and right from the beginning it overheats constantly, and shuts off, causing me to lose whatever I was working on. At least before, if I kept it ventilated enough, I had a chance of getting through my work before it overheated. Now (a year later) it overheats with no warning, and soon after I turn it on. I found that it overheats faster if it's plugged in, so now I can only use it on battery power, and the battery only lasts for about 2 hours or so, even less sometimes. Save your money, and don't buy this computer! Rating: - * I would recommend you buy this laptop..... If I hated you. ... The Pros: - It overheats so often that in harsh winters it can double as a second heater. The Cons: - It overheats so often. Period. Okay, imagine buying a car that has an engine that produces 330 horsepower, but if you use over 150 of it, the car overheats and dies. That's pretty much this laptop. Granted, I've had it for almost three years and it's been through some pretty extreme temperatures. About 90 degrees F / 31 degrees C in the summer and 28F / -5C in the winter. So, maybe that has something to do with the recent lackluster performance. Well, that's not entirely fair, in the beginning, it was awesome. A super powerhouse. After the first winter, it started making this crazy sound like it was chopping thick vegetables in the cooling fan. That sound has not gone away. Well, I did a lot to this thing. I installed a temperature monitoring program and an HD speed monitor and have set it to the lowest setting since. So, this thing now pumps a maximum of 1.5GHZ, even though it's capable of 3.33. But keep in mind if I push it even in the slightest, it'll overheat. It's summer now, and just to keep this thing going, I gotta blast the A/C. Not good for the environment. I can't say anything generally bad about Toshiba, cuz this is the first laptop I've ever owned, but I will say about this laptop is exactly what I had to say about "Batman Begins." It sucks. Rating:  - * Hot and heavy and supposedly portable ... Pros: * Nice display * Pretty blue case Cons: * Runs hot / overheats * Air vents / fans are on the bottom * Heavy * No firewire port * Seems to have an electrical short somewhere * Sound could be louder * Lousy battery life I've had this computer for about three years. I'll try to be fair. When I bought it, I may not have really known what I wanted. That's not the computer's fault. The display is beautiful and bright. The keyboard is a comfortable size. Aesthetically, it's a pretty good looking computer. It's also pretty much a processing powerhouse at 3.33GHZ, 100 gig HDD, etc. However: Very early on, I could feel electric current on my wrists when the computer was plugged into the power supply. I think that the top cover / speakers must be badly grounded. That problem went away on it's own, but it sure is odd and it did it when the computer was practically new. It runs HOT! I clean my computer's vents regularly with canned air and I prop it up at an angle to improve air circulation and still, if it's doing something processor intensive, it overheats and spontaneously shuts off. It's always done it and it's excessively annoying. When it does keep running, if the fans are full on, it sounds like a hair dryer and the air that comes out of the back is nearly as hot as one. What genius decided to but air intake fans on the bottom side of an allegedly portable computer in the first place? Don't even think of setting it on a chair, bed, table cloth, etc. while it's running. It's very heavy and the best you can get out of the battery is about an hour of use. It's a decent desktop replacement, but if you want a real portable, this is not the right machine for you. I haven't had any problems with any of the other hardware; everything works after three years of daily use and being lugged abound the world a fair amount. I guess you could say that it's reliable and well build were it not for the overheating problem. Either way, my next laptop is going to be a Mac. Rating: - * POS ... I had this lemon for about 2 years. I bought an extended warranty initially, that's why I was stuck with it for 2 years. Prior to this, I'd read some good reviews on Toshiba laptops hence the purchase ... Things went downhill for me within the 1st year ... overheating (sometimes within an hour of cold bootup, despite external cooling with fans and propped up heatsinks etc.) causes the computer to shut down all the time, until it finally gave up. I sent this back to Fry's for repairs 4 times, all for the same reason. They'd told me they either replaced the Motherboard or power supply, but the problem always return. It died again last month. This time, I'm not repairing it as I'm giving up on Toshiba. It wastes too much energy and gas trying to repair this lemon. I'm also giving up on Frys for jerking me around for 2 years purporting to fix this chronic problem. The right thing would be for either of them, more so Toshiba, to replace with a non-lemon. Rating:  - * Awesome desktop replacement ... I picked up a Toshiba Satellite A75 with a 3.2 Pentium 4, 256 megs of RAM, 15 inch monitor, 20 gig harddrive, DVD writer, ATI graphics card and Wifi card. Previously I had an HP Pavilion, which died for no apparent reason while editing photos. The Toshiba, while low on RAM, performs beautifully, be it watching DVDs, roaming for a free hotspot, using the word processor, video editing, or even travelling on the road. The battery drains pretty quick due to the heavy processor, and it overheats if you leave it on for extended periods, but this is to be expected with most laptops. I find Toshiba to be very reliable, and giving the best laptop for the buck. |
